or could it be worse-- do we start out nasty, selfish devils who need our parents, teachers, and religions to whip us into shape? the only way to know for sure, of course, is to ask a baby. but until recently, it's been hard to persuade them to open up and share their secrets. enter the baby lab. this is the creature at the center of the greatest philosophical, moral and religious debates about the nature of man: the human baby. they don't do much-- can't talk, can't write, can't expound at length about their moral philosophies. but does that mean they don't have one? the philosopher rousseau considered babies "perfect idiots, knowing nothing," and yale psychologist karen wynn, director of the infant cognition center here, the baby lab, says for most of its history, her field agreed. didn't we just think that these creatures at three months and even six months were basically just little blobs? >> wynn: oh, sure. i mean, if you look at them, they... >> stahl: yeah. >> wynn: ...they kind of look like little... i mean, cute little blobs. but they can't do all the things that a... an older chi